The Stepfather of a Demigod
by oh-snap-it's-her
Summary: It's hard work indeed


**Note: **'ello, loves! Long time no see, yeah? I've decided to extend my fanfiction writing to more of my obsessions, and Percy Jackson was nominated as first up at being a guinea pig. I wrote this a long time ago, and though I just did some editing, it really doesn't reflect my best work. I don't even think this really has a plot. I desperately need to get back into a writing routine. I've been woefully lacking. Constructive criticism would be great, so I can fix this up. If you have any requests of what to write next, tell me. My muse has taken a break, it seems.

**Disclaimer:** Rsquared is not me. I am not Rsqaured. I do not own these characters.

Spiderwoman Productions Presents:

The Stepfather of a Demigod

By Spiderwoman

I walked out of fourth period science class in relatively high spirits. Today's class wasn't too bad, and the homework was uncharacteristically light. It was enough to brighten anyone's day. Just mine in particular because of this saving-the-world crisis I was going through.

I merged into the crowded hallway to get my locker. My history textbook was conspicuously missing, even though I was sure I had it going into science.

I had just started going through my locker when it happened.

"Percy!"

I jumped and spun around.

There was no one there.

I collapsed against the locker and clutched at my chest. "Good gods, Annabeth, did you _need_ to give me a heart attack?" I looked around to make sure no one was looking, and reached out into thin air to yank off Annabeth's Yankees cap.

Annabeth materialized in front of me, scowling. "So much for the inconspicuous part of the plan. Gods, Percy, do you have to ruin everything? Chiron's going to be _mad_!"

"Well, why do you always have to stalk me at school? Did that turn out well last time? A simple Iris-message would suffice, thanks," I retorted. I turned back to my locker.

"I do _not_ stalk you! What happened last time wasn't my fault," Annabeth snapped, yanking her cap out of my hands. "And as for the Iris-message, I'm sure that would've gone well if I'd caught you in the middle of class."

I rolled my eyes and handed her a textbook to hold while I continued to search for that missing history book. "Why did you have see me anyway?" I asked.

Annabeth looked around to make sure we were alone. Or as alone as you could get in a crowded hallway. "We need to go back to camp. Our plan for attacking _Princess_ _Andromeda_ is totally botched," she told me in a low voice, her gray eyes narrowed like they always did when dealing with particularly nasty information. "Beckendorf hasn't gotten back from blowing up that bus yet. He's three days late."

"Great," I groaned, shutting my locker and staring to walk down the hall, Annabeth dogging in my footsteps. "Just what we need."

"That's not all," Annabeth informed me. "The _Princess_ _Andromeda_ changed course last night. They're heading in a totally new direction."

I cringed. "We really need to get to camp then," I said reluctantly.

"Like, _now_," Annabeth added agreeably. "Get us out of here. You know how to get around here, right?"

"No, Annabeth," I said. "It's not like it's my _school_ or anything." I grabbed her arm and maneuvered us through the crowd. Annabeth dutifully followed me.

"Jackson, is that you're _girlfriend?_" one of the students called.

I shot him an evil look, still holding onto her arm. Annabeth tensed and her arm went to where I knew she hid her knife.

"No killing the mortals," I reprimanded her. She dropped her arm with a scowl.

"What about Paul?" Annabeth hissed as we turned the corner. "Won't he worry?"

"I haven't exactly told him about—" I looked around for any eavesdroppers—"the _Greek_ _gods_, and all that. He just thinks I'm a really messed up kid."

Annabeth sighed in exasperation. "Seriously, Percy? You couldn't have brought it up at the dinner table, or something?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, yeah, that would go well. 'Hey, Paul, I'm really the son of Poseidon. You know, the Greek god? Pass the salt, would you?'"

Annabeth scowled at my antics. "You need to tell—"

"Lecture me later, 'kay? We need to stop talking about this, or else—"

For the second time that day, my name was called. "Percy!" To my dismay, my stepfather hurried over to where I was standing.

"Great, Annabeth, look what you've done. I thought we needed to get to camp?"

Annabeth scoffed in outrage. "So now this is _my_ fault? Stupid Seaweed Brain. How misinformed you are."

"You know my luck! You don't mention names unless you want them to appear. Gods, could this get worse?" I ran my hand through my hair in agitation as Paul just stared at us in confusion.

"Cue the monsters," Annabeth muttered.

I clapped my hand to her mouth. "Shut _up_! Did we not just cover this?"

Paul looked from Annabeth to me, obviously trying to figure out what was going on. "I'm sorry, but do you go to this school?" he addressed Annabeth hesitantly.

"No," came Annabeth's ambiguous reply.

Paul shook his head and turned to me instead. "Are you going to explain?"

"I need to leave. My camp is having problems. Big problems. I've got to go now, so I'll just—" I made to go around him, but Paul blocked my path.

"Nuh-uh, buddy. You can't skive off class. Your camp can wait until the end of the day," he said, holding out his hands.

I glanced at Annabeth, begging her silently to help me. Thankfully, she got my telepathic plea. "Mr. Blofis," she interrupted. "I'm afraid the Seaweed Brain really does have to go. He needs to save the world, now."

"Annabeth!" I hissed, whacking her arm. That was not the help I was hoping for. "Inconspicuous, remember?" She ignored me, that infuriating daughter of Athena.

"Save the world, eh?" Paul asked. "I wasn't aware the apocalypse was nearing."

"It is," Annabeth informed him seriously. "Kronos is mad at the Greek gods, and Percy, too, of course, and he's going to attack—"

"Leaving!" I interrupted loudly. "We're now leaving!"

Paul was looking like he was considering calling the nearest mental institute for the pair of us. "Kronos? Like the Greek titan?"

"He _is_ the Greek titan," Annabeth plowed on. "We'll explain the whole thing later."

Paul shook his head. "No, you aren't. You will tell me now, then will get back to class."

I nearly cried out in frustration. "Gods, Annabeth! You had to come to my school!"

But Annabeth was already pushing Paul into the nearest empty classroom, clearly about to tell him the whole story. I had no choice but to follow her.

"Percy is a demigod, sir," Annabeth told him when I shut the door.

When Paul just stared at her blankly, I picked up the story. "Annabeth and I are half-god. Greek god. The Greek gods really do exist."

"Right," Paul said slowly, still staring at us like we had multiple heads, which, um, we didn't. That's a Hydra.

"I'm the daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Percy's the son of Poseidon. God of the sea."

"The guy you met on my birthday," I added helpfully.

Paul furrowed his brow. "Is this real life?"

I face palmed while Annabeth impaled her knife in the desk in agitation. Paul flinched away in surprise, eyes wide. "That's a kni—!"

"Mr. Blofis. Please listen. If we don't go to camp, the world will explode or something."

"So you're telling me the gods are real, and the man I met on Percy's birthday was actually the god of the sea," Paul reiterated doubtfully.

"Precisely," Annabeth said, bobbing her head up and down. "And Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades agreed not to have any kids after World War II, because they were too powerful, but, you know, they broke that promise." She poked me. "Seaweed Brain here's not supposed to be alive. But he is. So many people hate him."

"Thanks, Annabeth. I know I can count on you for motivational support."

"Oh, shut up. You know it's true."

Paul held up his hands, cutting off our bickering. "If the gods are real," he said, like he was trying to put together a difficult puzzle, "then why haven't I noticed supernatural occurrences or something?"

"The Mist. It's like a veil that hides the way things really are. From mortals, at least," I explained. "Believe me, there are some pretty weird things out there. Why do you think I've been kicked out of every school I've gone to?"

"Your stellar grades didn't help, that's for sure," Annabeth felt obligated to contribute.

I ignored her. "Paul, there are also monsters out there. Monsters that like to eat, kill, maim, and impale demigods on a sword. That's what my camp does. It protects kids like me. Trains them. It's our safe haven."

"But not for much longer," Annabeth continued ominously. "Kronos is a titan. The titans and gods never got along, but the titans were banished to Tartarus, but they escaped a little while ago. Now a war is brewing. Kronos verses gods."

"The gods won once," Paul said, looking for all the world like he was humoring us. "Can't they do that again?"

"There are some complications. First, I kind of blew up Mount St. Helen's last year, and—"

"You did _what_?"

Annabeth scowled. She had informed me a while back that she would never forgive me for worrying her. "He blew up Mount St. Helen's," she repeated my words. "But he got out. Only he would."

"It's not my fault I find myself in those predicaments!" I countered.

Paul held out his hands in a placating gesture again. "Just continue."

"Typhon was in Mount St. Helen's. I woke him up," I said wearily. "Now he's after the gods, too. The gods are focusing all of their attention on him. He's the biggest threat. But that leaves Kronos. And he's bad, too."

"But with all of the gods, surely they could bring down Typhon fairly easily?" Paul asked. I could tell he was getting overwhelmed.

"That's the problem," I continued. "Not all of the gods are there. My dad's at a war with the old ocean god right now, and a lot of minor gods, feeling misunderstood, joined Kronos, too. It's basically a giant mess."

"The prophecy doesn't help," Annabeth added.

"What prophecy?" Paul asked.

I scowled at Annabeth. "I don't know. But it's about me."

Annabeth shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, Chiron would kill me if I told you." Turning to address Paul, she added, "Basically, this war will start if and when Percy turns sixteen."

"That's about a month and a half away," Paul mused to himself more than to us. Suddenly he snapped to attention. "What do you mean, 'if and when'?"

"My wellbeing is not exactly guaranteed," I said. "It's very probable that I will die before I get to sixteen."

Paul was still pretty skeptical. "You might die?"

Annabeth looked uncomfortable discussing my potential demise. "You have to understand, sir, that Percy's a powerful demigod. The more powerful they are, the more they are targeted. Believe me, I've been his friend for awhile. He always gets himself in these dangerous situations."

"How dangerous?"

Annabeth looked thoughtful. "When we went on our first quest, we nearly got killed by three Furies, then almost blown up on a bus, very nearly avoided being turned to stone, then he went and jumped out of the St. Louis Arch, went into the Underworld, and dueled the god of war. Did I miss anything, Percy?"

"Yeah," I said. "A lot."

"Should I call your mother?" Paul asked worriedly. "Are you feeling okay? Or is this a joke?"

"Make a run for it?" I suggested, bending down to Annabeth's ear.

"On my mark."

Paul whipped out his cell phone. And started dialing.

"One….two…"

"Hello, Sally? Yeah, everything's—no he's right here—he's saying something about Greek gods? Should I be worr—yes, he's with a girl, Anabelle or something?—Ah yes, that's it. Annabeth—"

"Three!"

Annabeth and I ducked under a very surprised Paul's arm, and bolted out of the room, bouncing off people and walls like ping pong balls. "Turn left!" I yelled to Annabeth as she put on her Yankees cap. An invisible hand clasped my wrist as we ducked in between students and teachers. The exit appeared in front of us. I was never so happy to see the familiar glass doors. We were home free.

Until the almighty roar echoed through the hall.

Annabeth cursed in three different languages. "That sounds like a Cyclops. And not the friendly, peanut butter-eating kind."

She whipped off her hat and pulled up her shirtsleeve, revealing a mini arsenal of weapons. She slid out her knife. "You be the distraction—"

"Always fun."

"I'll do the head-chopping bit."

"Three cheers for teamwork!"

"I'll do the head-chopping bit on _you _if you don't cut the sarcasm."

"Yes, ma'am!"

There was another bellowing roar. The halls started to shake as the Cyclops neared. I readjusted my grip on Riptide as Annabeth disappeared, courtesy of the Yankees cap.

This bit was always the worst.

There is always this time in a battle when you're on the defensive side and waiting for the enemy to attack. You're hanging on edge, tense as can be, in an adrenaline-fueled haze. Time slows down, and your grip tightens on your weapon. Your toes curl and your jaw locks. Your eyes narrow in determination as you imagine a million and one possible scenarios of how this fight could go down, not all of them involving you getting out on top. The whole world tentatively hangs in limbo for _one second, two seconds, three_, and a bead of sweat rolls down your forehead, as you realize _this is life or death_ and _I may not get out alive_. And just as you start second guessing your capabilities—

The world exploded around me as the Cyclops rounded the corner. I felt Annabeth rush past me as I launched myself at the monster. I tried not to imagine Tyson as I sliced him in the knee. The Cyclops bellowed, but it was more angry than hurt.

"Come and get me!" I yelled.

Let it be said that Cyclopes weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.

He lumbered after me, his arm outstretched to snatch me up. I pressed myself against the glass door and turned my head away. I shut my eyes and prayed to every god and goddess I knew that Annabeth had done her part.

Let it also be said that I freaking _love _Annabeth.

The Cyclops' expression went suddenly from bloodthirsty to confused. It let out a dull "Oh!" and its head rolled off its body. The carcass exploded into dust.

I let out a sigh of relief as Annabeth gracefully dropped onto the ground. She tucked her hat into the waistband of her jeans and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "And that is how you kill a Cyclops in less than sixty seconds."

"Nice head-chopping," I complimented her.

She pinched my cheek. "And _superb_ distracting skills."

Suddenly, alarms started to wail. A crowd of students and teachers ran onto the scene. I caught Rachel's wink as she took in the scene. Apparently, Annabeth caught it too, as she scowled and sent Rachel a death glare.

"Percy?" a voice called.

I turned and located Paul's disbelieving face among the crowd.

"Percy, we need to run before the police arrive," Annabeth hissed in my ear.

I really wished I didn't keep running out of destroyed school buildings in front of my soon-to-be-stepfather, but I really couldn't help it. I backed out of the door, just as sirens began to wail on the street. I tried to pretend like I didn't just see Paul's face fall in disappointment

The first cop car showed up as Annabeth and I swung onto Blackjack's back. "To camp!" Annabeth told Blackjack. We soared into the sky.

I looked down just as we were about to scale the school building, and I caught sight of Paul talking to one of the authorities. He was shaking his head and running a hand over his face. He looked incredibly tired.

My heart pulled with guilt.

To be the stepparent of a demigod.

Hard work indeed.


End file.
